


Ruby Rosewick

by Fluffy_the_beowolf



Category: RWBY
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, F/M, Faunus Roman Torchwick, Faunus Ruby Rose (RWBY), Faunus Taiyang Xiao Long, Faunus Yang Xiao Long, M/M, Nobody is completely evil, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Politics, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26444317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffy_the_beowolf/pseuds/Fluffy_the_beowolf
Summary: Life isn't always kind, and it's full of illusions, this is something Ruby found out rather quickly. Just two years out of beacon and everything has already gone down the drain, her money, her sanity, a large portion of her moral compass. but luckily her uncle is here to help, well his connections are there to help anyway.So maybe this won't turn out so bad?
Relationships: Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen/Junior, Ruby Rose/Roman Torchwick, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Joy can be found in monotony

' _Two vale enforce officers are under review today after the death of 86 year-old protester Frank Lloyd, who died during a peaceful protest turned violent earlier this week. The kingdom of Vale formally announced this morning that it did not condone the actions of these two officers beating the pensioner, even though the officers in question haven't been under any formal reprimandation-'_

"What a bunch of shit" Nora Valkyrie, a spunky 20-year-old said to her roommate, flopping backwards onto her bed "I don't understand these white fang dudes, they say they want equality for faunus but they end up getting other faunus killed, all for what?" 

"Attention, a voice, a point, a demonstration, an example, you name it" Ruby Rose, an equally 20-year-old grumbled agitated back to Nora. "I don't agree with them anyway, they give faunus a bad reputation" 

"I would have thought you would have been all for Faunus rights with… you know…" Nora said looking her teammate up and down, mainly the fluffy poof of glorious fox tail swishing behind her dappled with red on black, and the twin pair of tall ears jutting out of her slightly messy mop of 'I don't have class today so fuck off I'm not making myself remotely presentable in public' hair. 

"Don't finish that Sentence or I'll tell Ren you have a crush on him" 

"You wouldn't! you traitor!" 

"I'm your friend, best friend even, that means I can blackmail you about anything and anytime I want" Ruby smirked watching Nora wilt before her. "Besides just because I'm a faunus doesn't mean I jump into every equal rights bandwagon whenever one pulls up" 

"Especially when they're basically terrorists with fewer explosives?"

"Yep," she said, popping the P "now you're getting it" 

"Humph fine… did you finish Professor Goodwitch's assignment?" 

"Of course I did" 

"Can i- 

"No you can't copy from it, this is the second time this week you've asked that I can help you not do it for you" 

"But Ruby!" 

"Don't but Ruby me! I let you copy the last one of her assignments and that one took me weeks to complete!" 

"But I'm going to fail this class! You can't have your partner failing can you!?" 

"I can and I will if you don't step up" grumbled Ruby settling her game controller down now Nora has made clear that she wants attention and no gaming can take place while she acts like a child. "Just go ask Professor Goodwitch for help, she will probably help you in a heartbeat, it's just labelling Grimm anyway" 

"Ughhh worst teammate ever, fine I'll go ask stupid Goodwitch" 

"Give Ren a big smooch on the cheek while you're at it" 

"What? No! You jerk!" 

"Bye Nora!" Ruby shouted slamming the door in her disgruntled partner's face uncaring of the potential backlash that could occur from such actions. And then turning on her heels to the bomb pit of a dormitory they call a bedroom "out of all the people in the whole of beacon I just had to have been partnered with the slob" she muttered, punctuating her commentary by using barbecue tongs she bought especially for this reason to pick up an deposit her roommate's tong in the wash basket, just so she didn't have to touch it, before then deciding "Could be worse, could be Carden" 

"Carden is probably cleaner as well," Ruby decided, moving fort Nora aka the collection of towels sitting in the corner of the dorm room festering. "Anywho" the girl sighed, plopping down on her Zwei shaped pillow, slipping on some corgi themed headphones, and picking up her controller with an experienced grip, all so she can tame a rwby-rex. 

Nora would be fine right? Ruby thought, completely forgetting the fact that the faculty are currently in a meeting and she sent her bombastic partner who could be best described as a living Grimm-aid man, after the famously agitated/aggressive professor. 

Meh not Ruby's problem, Nora is a big girl she can handle it… maybe. 

* * *

"Ehhhhhhhlllll"

"Don't lick deathstalkers!" Ruby screamed smacking Nora over the head with crescent rose "I swear you have brain damage" 

"Oh come on it's tied up" Nora pouted childishly before said deathstalkers screed writhing around while Ren jabbed his gun knives into its brain. "Now can I lick it?" 

"Sure but that's gross" Ruby grumbled rolling her eyes boredly watching her partner drag her tongue up the Deathstalker's claw before retching at the taste. "Told you it's gross" 

"I think I'm going to be sick" she whined, running to the bushes, being watched by an unsympathetic Ruby, slightly amused Ren, and a very unamused Goodwitch. 

"Well now we've defeated and… licked the Grimm we should start moving back to the academy" The professor sighed taking a long look at the three of them, and then walking off expecting them to follow. 

"Nora now's your chance" Ruby muttered, digging her partner in the ribs. 

"To vomit more?" Nora gagged, gulping down fluids to get that deathstalker taste out of her mouth. 

"No~ to ask Ren out, come on We've been planning this for weeks" 

"Now isn't the time though! I just vomited into the bushes right in front of him, I haven't had any time to prepare. I stink like an Ursa mosh pit, I'm covered in blood and you think this is the best time?" 

"Ok wow, one take a deep breath I think you're overthinking this, two how is any of that any different from normal Nora? You gave me a bag of teeth for my birthday. And three, that's exactly why this is the best time to ask him! We're tired and he can't run away" 

"Fair point, fair point… counterpoint, we just go to the dormitory and scream into our pillows, take a nap and ask him tomorrow?" 

"Just go ask him!" 

"Ask me what?" Ren asked, averting Nora's eyes from Ruby and to the stunning young man, his slender figure and dark hair with that little stripe of pink captivated Nora for a good half-minute, while the boy walked awkwardly and unsettled by the drooling girl. 

"Nora" Ruby started, clicking her fingers quickly in front of the girl "Nora!" She shouted waving her hand this time "hello~ Nora! Anyone home in there? All good on planet Nora? You need an evac space cadet?" 

"Wha? Who am I? Where are we?" 

"Staring dreamily into Ren's freaked out face apparently, you blew it, sister, he walked off when you walked into that tree back there"

"I walked into a what!" 

"More like walking through but to each their own I suppose, keep this up though and you won't get a boyfriend before your sixty" 

"But he's so hot though! Don't do this to me, Ruby! You're my wing woman you should be there for me!" 

"And I'm here for you! Hands down! But I never said I would be dishonest to you to save your feelings from the reality of the situation" 

"If I won't be able to get a boyfriend before I'm sixty, where does that put you, champion virgin of the fourth year?" 

"If I'm lucky, sometime before my hundreds, if I make it that far" 

"And you make fun of me for wanting to tap that ass" 

"I don't think that means what you think it means" 

"What else could it mean?" Nora asked, making a slapping motion "I want to do a Coco Adel" she clarified making Ruby roll her eyes. 

"Hey, Nora?" Huh? Ruby's head snapped over to Ren who was not as far away as she thought he was "I just heard everything you said" 

And Ruby has never seen Nora blush so brightly or so hard before, she turned into a lighthouse momentarily. It was really impressive in Ruby's opinion. "Oh- Uhm- I-" 

"Well say something! Gods'' Ruby grumbled tired of Nora's stuttering and just decided to push the two together with a little semblance aid. Watching the embarrassed pair awkwardly stand in front of each other while talking with strange sounds which are almost words but not quite, clearly something got lost in translation but Ruby was here to watch them kiss and not be awkward. 

"Ok, let's just get this over with," Nora said taking a deep breath and looking at the ninja before her "Lie Ren, I've liked you since we were first years, that day we took down that never more together was the best day if my life, your my crush and I've wanted to do this for four years, and if all it took was Ruby shoving us together force ably I would have asked her to do that during initiation," Nora said looking at Ren some more closing her eyes and then saying "I guess what I'm trying to say is…" 

"Say wha- umph!" The boy started being cut off by the valkyrie crashing her face into his, their lips enclosing each other as they stood in the forest clearing making out in front of their teacher and best friend. But they both just closed their eyes, wrapping their arms around each other and deepening their kiss. 

"I was wondering what was taking so long," Glynda mumbled to Ruby who nodded. 

"I feel like we should look away or something" Ruby mumbled back to her teacher, both of them looking to each other and silently agreeing to the decision and spinning on their heels giving the two some degree of privacy. Even then the two of them were left standing there listening to the mushy sounds of lips and tongues squishing together and moans both male and female. 

"Well, this is the beginning of it miss rose, be prepared to see your friends marry off to each other" Glynda said looking at her unofficial favourite student who momentarily gained a dark look on her face. 

"That's not that bad, I think I can live with that" Ruby said unconfident in her own statement, and Glynda just smiled, seeing her unconfidence in a second, and started some small talk with the short fox faunus so they don't have to listen to the two students make out. 

"This is definitely not what I thought I was doing today"

* * *

"So how's my favourite niece doing? Ready to crush that final exam?" A scruffy old Qrow asked with a smirk, digging Ruby playfully in the shoulder as she sighed but smiled nonetheless. 

"I'm doing ok uncle Qrow, and don't let Yang hear that or she'll have a tantrum and burn dad's sunflowers again" Ruby chuckled with a slightly vacant expression that seemed to trail off before her uncle. 

"Oh, I know that look, Ru Ru having Boy troubles?" He asked teasingly 

"Well you could say that" 

"... girl troubles then?" 

"You could say that too! But no it's… mainly Nora and her boyfriend Ren" Ruby sighed "I'm sorry you probably don't want to hear this, you've got alcoholism to get back to" 

"Hey now I can take a break from alcoholism to listen to your love issues, I'm uncle Qrow! You can tell me anything!" 

"Can I tell you that I once killed a man because I thought he had an aura unlocked and he didn't but I shot him in the groin anyway and kinda enjoyed it and ended up watching him bleed out for three hours while debating was it worth calling an ambulance but by the time I called one he was already dead?" 

"Ok well, I did say everything. So while I book you in with a therapist, you tell me about this Nora girl" Qrow said rather light-heartedly while he dusted (googled) a therapist for his twenty-year-old niece. 

"She's my partner! You know this!" 

"Well if she's your partner what's the problem?" He asked obviously confused and after a couple of minutes of complaining about how slobbish Nora is and how frustrated it makes Ruby she finally got to the point of the whole conversation. "Ahhhh so it's because you hate her your having issues? I suggest you stop hating her" 

"Wait I don't hate her! It's just… I don't know" 

"Jealous of her relationship? Or envious of it?" 

"Is slightly disturbed by it acceptable?" 

"I wouldn't say disturbed but anything is acceptable, come on kid let's get something to drink, you look like you need it," Qrow said, touching Ruby's back gently and pushing her towards the door, partially happy about it, yet trying to ignore the tail swishing back and forth against his leg. 

"Fiinnnneee, but your paying" 

"Very well, get to stretch out my discount" 

"Yeah, a constant reminder to bone more bartenders" Ruby sniggered, making her uncle blush and smack her upside the head. 

"Who told you that!" 

"Junior~" 

"That bastard!" 

"Hey you should be thankful, 60% off is a big discount!" Ruby chirped making her uncle groan more. 

"That's what makes this worse" he grumbled, grabbing the back of his niece's shirt and dragging her through the streets. 

"Hey!! Mean" Ruby whined 

"Just don't tell your dad Alright? He would gut me if he finds out I took you drinking" 

"He would also gut you if he found out you go dogging on his bed" 

" **Shut up about that!** " 

…1 hour later… 

"How's the taste?" Qrow asked as Ruby practically blew bubbles into her drink. 

"Little weak but then again I have school tomorrow" 

"That's the spirit! I'm limiting you to three anyway, alcoholism is a family business but I'm not letting you start it this early, even though I was at least thirty before I started drinking" Qrow said, rubbing his niece's back while she sipped her drink through the multicoloured straw she practically demanded for. "So aside from this girl, and that one guy you killed, how has school been?" 

"Alright, if you could call it alright, we're basically just preparing for the final exam, I can't believe it's already that time of year though, this time next year I'll be a huntress" 

"That's a cause for celebration! Come on being a hunter was the best decision of my life you'll have a blast" Qrow smiled slightly but Ruby just sighed, looking at her uncle. 

"I'm not so sure it's the best decision for me, I'm not ready for solo work" Ruby mumbled her two fuzzy fox ears pinning themselves back while she sat there. 

"How about this, once you've graduated I'll come with you for your first couple of missions, show you the ropes, teacher and student together fighting evil, how does that sound?" 

"That sounds great uncle" Ruby smiled just as Junior walked over, holding a drink and a pair of keys. 

"It's good to see you Qrow, who's this?" He chuckled, putting the drink in front of the hunter, who threw it down his neck at record speed. 

"This is my oldest niece, Ruby, she's had a bit of a bad day," Qrow said rubbing the girl's shoulder. 

"More like a bad week" Ruby grumbled cupping her iced drink and sipping slowly.

"Well let's fix that little missy," Junior said jumping over the bar and sliding her a glass of a chilled something that looked gritty and opaque yellow "pineapple juice, with a bit of kick, guarantee to lift the spirits of any girls with a tail as beautiful as yours" 

Ruby blushed heavily at that comment but slurped up the sweet tasty drink anyway, tucking her tail behind her, embarrassed. "Nothing too strong I hope? She's only twenty, hasn't built up a tolerance yet"

"Na it's a light one point eight mix, nothing crazy" Junior smirked, reaching out and rubbing Ruby's head, making her growl, slapping his hand away. "Feisty" 

"Don't antagonize her Junior, she'll cut you" Qrow sniggered "pretty sure she has a knife" 

"I always have a knife" 

"See?" 

"Point taken" Junior sighed, looking at the two before his eyes focused with a pair of emerald green eyes which looked slightly unfocused "shit" 

"What's up June bear?" Qrow smirked 

"Ok one never call me that again" 

"Never going to happen June bear" 

"Two my boss is literally coming this way right now, and not to sound rude, but you look like a paedophile making a fifteen-year-old drink so you can take her into your van for later… consumption," Junior said urging the two to move out of the VIP seats that he was gracious to let them sit at because they're, ahem, friends. 

"I'm not a beowolf" Qrow chuckled, putting an arm around his niece and pulling the girl along with him as they shuffled down. 

"Hey" a rather light almost sarcastic voice sounded making Ruby turn around to see a ginger standing there, looking at her with mossy eyes, both of their fox ears pricked at the eye contact, before he broke the eye contact by swiping away his bangs to place a black bowler hat over the fuzzy hearing aids "is this man bothering you?" 

"Yes- no- wait- sorry no he isn't, he's my uncle," Ruby said wagging her tail lightly. 

"Are you sure? he looks like a paedophile?" 

"I'm not a paedophile! Look buddy I'm just here taking my niece out for a drink to make her feel a little better about her career options" 

"Do you know this man? Junior?" The ginger asked the bartender who sighed. 

"Yep, this is Qrow, he's a friend" he grumbled rolling his eyes "I'll get the papers you asked for, try not to disturb my customers too much." 

"Customers yeah right, you gave us five free drinks!" Qrow shouted to his friend who just waved his hand while leaving into the back corridors to the offices. "Come on Rubs, let's get you back to school before Glynda pops a vein over you missing curfew" 

"Did you know that man?" Ruby mumbled to Qrow who nodded silently pulling his niece quicker out the door. 

"Roman Tortwick, he's the owner of the Tortwick corporation, I wouldn't involve yourself with him if I was you" he sighed, looking at his niece while she nodded in a way that could only be called obedient. 

"That's how people get killed in this world" 


	2. Pain is a consequence of success

"You clean up well In that Rubes!" Tai-yang cheered, wagging his short tail as he patted his oldest daughter's back. 

"You look awesome!" Little Yang cheered holding up the hairbrush she had been using to brush through Ruby's tail clumsily, but it at least gave her the illusion of helping, which subsequently kept her out of the way. 

"You think so?" Ruby asked, spinning around and looking at the gold gilded black blazer with the school logo stamped on her right breast, along with the rest of the green-tinted ensemble. "I feel like a nutcracker" 

"Na you look professional, this is your graduation you need to look professional" Tai-yang smiled, rubbing her daughter's ears making her tail wiggle slightly while she strapped a very shiny highly polished crescent rose onto her back, not before kissing the girl's blade. 

"Why the hell did they choose me to do this?" Ruby sighed just before Nora bounced over, throwing herself over Ruby's shoulders. 

"Because you're awesome! You killed a goliath last week, a Go-Li-Ath, you have any idea how tough those things are!?" She chirped, patting her partner's fuzzy ears making her Yelp throwing her off in one rather panicked firm kick to the chest. 

"Nora! Personal space idiot!" Ruby shouted, punching the girl's face making her laugh heartily while Ruby beat her to a pulp, which did little actual damage apart from chipping away at her aura. 

"Miss Rose, two minutes and you need to give your speech" Glynda interrupted watching Ruby turn away and frantically clean herself up being followed by Yang equipped with her brush. Ruby was practically screaming inside when Ozpin turned to the side of the stage just hidden by a curtain, nodding towards her in the agreed-on signal that meant she needed to go on stage. 

"Well, Wish me luck guys' ' Ruby smiled looking on stage where Ozpin was talking to the crowd of students and parents as well as a majority of the faculty. 

"Good luck!" Yang chirped, smiling brightly up at her big sister who smiled back at her lightly ruffling her hair before she grabbed a small stack of cue cards and read through them quickly. 

"Showtime" Ruby muttered, straightening herself up and walking, practically marching, confidently to where the headmaster was standing, he smiled kindly, patting her shoulder while he backed away from the stand and microphone clapping and the whole auditorium erupted in applause tapering off after a couple of minutes. 

Ruby paused, internally panicking before she took a pause flicking through her cue cards yet again. Ozpin took a step closer and said lowly, "Your ok you're doing fine 1, 2-" he said pointing to her before she started speaking, saying this probably very meaningful speech about how well her year group has evolved over the last four years and learnt important skills which will help them in their future life, but as I, your writer, is way too lazy to write this speech and make it relevant, you're going to be stuck with an ellipsis time skip of about 1- 5 minutes. 

…

"Kill me!!" Ruby screamed when she walked off the stage, being hugged by her dad lightly who chuckled, nuzzling her forehead in a fox way of saying 'it's ok'. 

"You did great Rubes, sure you got a bit of stage fright at the start but you spoke well throughout your speech," Tai-yang said as she sighed, just leaning against him looking at the small card of plastic in her hand with her name and face on it. "You have your license now anyway" 

"Yeah I guess you're right" Ruby smiled, being tackled by her little sister both of them wagging their tails while they embraced. 

"Whoaaaa Rubeeee you're a huntress now!" Nora cheered, slinging an arm around her partner's shoulder as they both laughed at it, making Yang particularly confused as she inadvertently landed herself in the literal middle of a conversation "you're a badass anyway I don't doubt you're going to become a world-famous huntress one day!" Nora cheered, just as Ruby was embraced by another, more muscular arm, wrapping around her waist in a respectful manner. 

"You were excellent," Ren said in his normal monotone voice, walking away from the embrace and standing by his girlfriend, obviously having put a lot of effort into that brief hug.

"Aww, you got a Renny hug!" Nora cheered, throwing herself onto her boyfriend with the energy of a labrador who hasn't had a walk yet. 

"Thanks, guys" Ruby smiled lightly just as another pair of arms slung around her shoulders, and a sandpapery chin settled between her fluffy ears instantly making her tail swish "uncle Qrow! You made it!" 

"Of course I did! Couldn't miss my favourite niece's graduation!" He chuckled just as Yang whined in complaint at that comment. 

"Hey! Meanie what about me!" She shouted, pouting when he rubbed her tiny folded over ears before turning back to his oldest niece.

"You were great I heard your speech and everything" Qrow smirked, petting the girl's ears making her tail become a reddish-black blur of fur

"Wait, hold up before you mess up her hair," Tai-yang said, holding up a camera as Ruby blushed lightly but stood tall and allowed her father to take her picture with her holding her hunting license in front of her. " I am really proud of you sweetie, you did so well" Tai-yang smiled warmly just as Ruby embraced him wagging her tail more at him kissing her forehead "your mother would think the world of you too if she was here" 

"She is, she always will be" Ruby smiled watching Tai shed some tears and just held his daughter tight while Yang hugged her waist not quite tall enough to hug her taller sister properly. And Ruby hoped that would last, boy it would be embarrassing to be shorter than her little sister. 

"Ruby! Me, Coco, Ren, and Fox are planning to have a graduation party at the fluffy beowolf, you want to come? Coco's paying" Nora then chirped, making Ruby smile pushing away from her small family unit and turn back to her friends, all now equipped with their hunting licenses 

"Oh what the heck, let's get hammered!" Ruby exclaimed as the five new hunters congregated for pictures and words from their teachers telling them how proud they were and the like, before heading out for a night of drinking and annoying the vale police department.

* * *

**_…_ **

**_…Two years later…_ **

**_…_ **

"Arg! Stupid beowolf! Stupid Griffin! And stupid fucking nevermore! When did this get so hard!" Ruby moaned, trekking a dirt road back towards a remote village in the heart of anima. "I'm not getting paid enough to deal with this kind of bull shit" 

"Why couldn't I have chosen to be a teacher or something, so much easier than fighting Grimm!" Ruby shouted into the forest causing birds to scatter from the trees, not like it mattered anyway. But little did she know, she wasn't the reason for the birds turning tail, it turned out it was the small fleet of airships overhead that did it. Heading straight to the village she spent the last four months protecting "no! If that village gets destroyed now, brothers above I'm going to hunt down whoever did it" Ruby hissed, running even faster just catching the end of an airship offloading crates of supplies. 

"Hey! Hey you! What's going on here?" Ruby asked a soldier who turned around looking her up and down 

"Are you this village's huntress?" He asked as she nodded, he just sighed and pulled out a piece of paper "we were called in by mistrial council to provide extra support, you are to be relieved of your duties here paid for the time you spend doing your job and sent home. I'm sorry for the inconvenience… Roobly Rose?" 

"It's Ruby, you knew that retard" Ruby hissed, snatching the resignation form out of his hand. "You guy with the funny hat, give me a lift back to the capital?" 

"Fine just get on quick," he said as Ruby grabbed her field pack and hopped on, brooding the whole ride back to haven. 

"What the hell lionheart!" Ruby shouted the second she bashed down the door to haven academy "four months I was working in that village! Four months! And you didn't even think to tell me that you brought in extra reinforcement and that I'm dismissed!" Ruby shouted, not even caring that the man was in a meeting with the other faculty of the school. 

"Miss Rose! I thought I told you at some point" he said picking up his scroll and scrolling (ha) through his contacts

"Cut the Ursa shit, you know full well that hunters can't receive conventional messages through scrolls while out in the field" Ruby roared, slapping away his scroll hearing it slide across the floor possibly broken but she didn't care. 

"You're still being paid for your service miss rose I don't understand why you are so upset!" He yelped, quivering underneath her furious gaze. 

"You're paying me the daily rate! That's one thousand one hundred and twenty lien for four months of work! I was promised at the minimum eight thousand for six months!" Ruby shouted practically tearing out her ears over the matter, not like it would do much Lionheart was a piece of shit. 

"The rates dropped while you were in the field, I'm sorry miss rose but that's what the council agreed your services were worth," he said succeeding in making the distraught faunus more frustrated. 

"My services are worth more than that! I killed twenty-eight goliaths during those four months!" 

"Alright alright take a deep breath, how about I pay for a drop-ship to take you back to Vale? You're clearly stressed and tired from a long mission ``Lionheart said as Ruby sighed, rubbing her face for a long minute accepting a drink of water when passed one by the school faculty she crashed the meeting of. 

"Yeah sure whatever, fuck I need a drink" she sighed leaving promptly and receiving a message about that dropship. "Just look at this" Ruby chuckled, flicking through the two hundred or so notifications which had stacked up over the last couple of months of her not having a scroll that could function properly. 

One of them did raise Ruby's spirits though, that being a picture of her ten-year-old little sister holding up proudly a rather crude painting of Ruby with her signature Cape and crescent rose, with a little caption of 'Yang's art project for the week' 

Ruby sighed and just accepted that she had to face the music sometime and typed to her dad 

'Hi just got dismissed from my mission because Lionheart is a bastard, gonna be back home later today, tell Yang I said hi', and not even waiting for a reply did she just close her scroll and start making her way to the airship pads 

… 7 hours later… 

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, running at her big sister at rocket speed, making the woman chuckle when she caught her in her arms, hugging her tightly. 

"Hi, little sis!" Ruby smiled, depositing the young blond onto the floor and then hugging her father who hugged her briefly before pinching his nose. 

"Boy you need a shower sweet, you smell like anima," he said taking a step away watching her ears droop slightly but she just sighed and was dragged inside the house by her little sister. 

"Yeah I'll be right back," she said, dumping her field pack by the door and scurrying upstairs leaving her father to assure Yang to sit down, after all, it was way past midnight and the girl wasn't even supposed to be out of bed at this time, but her big sis coming home after a dangerous and long mission was cause for her to be allowed to stay up late. 

Even if it costs Tai-yang his afternoon answering calls from Yang's teachers about her being grouchy and violent. "Alright Yang Ruby is very tired how about you give her a kiss goodnight while I make your nocturnal sister some coco" 

"Ok" Yang grumbled, as Ruby flew down the stairs not looking tired at all but still wet from her shower and partially covered in a towel. Yang walked over to her big sister, standing on her tiptoes for the older fox faunus to nuzzle her lightly. 

"Bed" she then said, watching her sister run upstairs more obedient than ever. 

"I've missed your control over the last four months, that girl practically worship's the floor you walk on" Tai chuckled, slinging his arm around his oldest daughter. 

"She's not that bad, nothing you can't handle" Ruby smirked patting Tai's shoulder before flopping onto the sofa. 

"Soooo do you want to talk about your last mission? Or do you just want to go to bed and talk about it in the morning?" He asked as Ruby sighed leaning back, closing her eyes for a moment. 

"I'm too angry to be tired, so yes let's talk," she said rubbing her head. 

"What even happened! You just messaged me out of the blue telling me you've been dismissed!" He shouted… quietly as to not disturb Yang who should be asleep. She probably isn't though, she's probably trying to climb under her bed or something stupid. 

"I don't know! One second I'm killing Grimm, the next I'm being transported back to beacon because mistrial council is a piece of shit that decided on paying me an eighth of what they promised me for the four months I spent looking after those dip shit villagers." 

"Wow ok, how much is that?" 

"They initially said they would give me eight thousand or something lien for the full six months, but I came back and they dropped it to one thousand, barely enough to pay for the ammunition of this mission and the ammunition of the last mission I did and still haven't seen a single card of lien for" 

"You just sound like you've had a hard day, how about you sit down, get a blanket, watch some movies and I'll get you some cocoa?" He finally asked, listening to a tired groan followed by a stiff nod. 

"More like a hard year dad but I appreciate the sympathy" Ruby sighed, rubbing her face lightly "actually dad, I'm going out, track down uncle and see if I can squeeze a free drink out of him" 

"Alright stay safe" he just sighed, watching his daughter pick up crescent rose and leave the house, starting the twenty-minute trek through the forest to the nearest airship docking bay. Tai felt like Ruby really shouldn't be out drinking when she's so frustrated, but he also knows that there's very little he can do to stop her bar from physically knocking her out even though that would be a challenge within itself. 

He's sure nothing too bad will happen anyway. 

* * *

"Heeeyyyy little red, long time no see, you back from yo' mission?" Junior asked, walking up and ruffling the girl's hair. 

"Yeah, unfortunately, got kicked off because mistrial government is a pile of Ursa shit" Ruby grumbled with a weak smile. "How has Vale been June?" 

"It's been… alright, white fang being white and fangy like usual, blew up the docks a month ago," he said, slipping behind the bar "you look exhausted" 

"Yep just came back from mistrial today," she said, stretching out watching her uncle's boyfriend retrieve a glass for her. 

"Well have a taste of this, on the house" he smiled sliding the glass over to her, pleased to see her tail wiggle happily. "New mix just for you sweets" 

"Your flatterer" Ruby smiled sipping it lightly "that's quite good… do you think you'll have any work for me?"

"Whoa ok, do you have any idea what you're asking? Who you are asking that too?" 

"Yes, which is why I'm asking, I'm broke Junior, the last four missions I went on landed me in debt. I'm desperate here, I'm hoping if I ask you, you'll at least give me something not too bad" she sighed, leaning against the bar setting her head down on the cool slightly sticky surface. 

"Alright Ruby, because I like you, and because I like your uncle, I'll see what I can do, wait here," he said walking off into the back offices, coming back five minutes later with a small pack of papers. "I've got six calls for Grimm exterminations and a detainment letter, lightest I could find for you," he said slapping them down while she flipped through them. 

"This one? Oversee railway construction in Grimm infested ruins' ' Ruby said, sliding it back to Junior who looked it over nodding lightly after reading every detail of the request. 

"Yeah, checks out Alright, the guy who called it in is relatively respectable, the pay is decent too, I would take it" 

"I will then" Ruby smiled, watching Junior grab a pen. 

"Sign here, and I'll call the guy who sent it in and tell them your coming," he said, watching her sign it before holding his hand out to her, making her look at it strangely. "Shake it" he stated, shaking hands with her firmly "pleasure doing business with you" he smiled, finishing with ruffling her hair making her Yelp, pouting at the older man crossing her arms while doing so. "Now remember I'm doing this because your my boy's niece if something goes wrong, which I'm not saying it will call me immediately and I'll get you out of there as quick as I can" 

"Yes Junior, I'll be careful, thank you so much you have no idea how much help this is doing to me," Ruby said, leaning over the bar to hug him, which he awkwardly returned. 

"Alright yes I know, you're an absolute sweetheart, the brothers would smite me if I didn't help out" he chuckled "now scram! You've got work tomorrow!" 

"Yes, June bye June" Ruby giggled, promptly leaving with a wagging tail, happy to finally be doing something that she was guaranteed a paycheck for. Even though it wasn't a massive amount of lien, it was something, and Ruby needs that something. 

Her dad was certainly going to be surprised. 


	3. A long silence can cut through more then any words

"Ruby Rose reporting for duty!" Ruby chirped enthusiastically which earned her a grunt of recognition from the boss or who she believes is the boss to her knowledge, the man himself just sat behind a desk with a mug of what Ruby thinks is 

"Are you the hunter junior referred, correct?" He asked, looking her up and down "little young to be taking contract jobs, let me guess… first time?" 

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ruby sighed bashfully while he chuckled. 

"Usually contract hunters aren't as enthusiastic, and oftentimes hunt calls like the one you signed only attract the rookies. Nothing too… morally ambiguous shall we say?" He said making her blush at being exposed so easily, before pulling out a scroll from seemingly nowhere, expanding it into a map "anyway, you'll be looking over the west side today, just make sure a stray beowolf or whatever doesn't eat one of my workers and try your best not to damage any equipment while subduing a Grimm" 

"Alright then," Ruby said, looking over the map presented to her "how exactly am I supposed to get there?" 

"Hop on one of the shuttles and tell them you're the hunter, they will probably be laying out red carpets by the time you arrive at the construction site." He chuckled slightly, which Ruby found a little weird, the other fox faunus, in general, was a little weird, she didn't feel entirely safe around him actually, but she could sense he didn't have an aura, so Ruby was confident she could protect herself. 

"One more thing, who exactly are you?" Ruby asked with a little head tilt. 

"Well, that's not necessarily a good point, that you didn't read the note properly. But my name is Roman Tortwick, call me Mr Tortwick for now" he smiled holding his hand out to the other fox faunus which she shook trying not to show that she was nervous through the contact but by the fact she grabbed his hand with the wrong hand and pulled it, she failed horribly. 

Luckily Mr Tortwick just looked at her weird and sent her along her way, handling the situation much better then she did. 

"Come on Ruby get it together, you're just here to watch some workers and kill some Grimm, you've done this many times over" Ruby muttered to herself, looking around and quickly locating the shuttle Mr Tortwick was talking about. And after getting into a small argument with the operator, she sat in the corner texting Junior on her scroll, updating him on her progress, and then doing the same for her dad who was equally, or perhaps more worried then Junior about this whole mission. But they both understood why she was doing all of this which was a bonus. 

Ruby paused and sat there on the shuttle feeling It rattle to life once all the workers loaded onto it creating a rather stuffy atmosphere with all these 20- 50-year-old men packed in like sardines, but she managed to secure herself a rather nice spacious corner, and after she told them she's their overseeing hunter she got to sit in driver's cabin. 

Which was much more comfortable than a metal bench. Mainly because she has a cushion this time, and because the driver was a faunus, the spare seat was also made for a faunus. So no annoying tail cramps that Ruby was dreading the most out of this whole situation. 

Even when they reached the end of the track, aka the construction site, someone got her a chair so she didn't have to stand up the whole time, even then there wasn't much Grimm disruption, apart from a couple of young beowolves that got a little gutsy, even then a major confrontation wasn't needed because a few warning shots sent the hell hounds running with their tails between their legs. 

But she could see the damage those two beowolves could have done if she wasn't there, workers with no aura, no separating barrier between them and the Grimm infested forest, would be brutally killed and devoured with little to no warning. 

"Hey, huntress! You want some soup?" Someone asked, making Ruby's head snap over to them, her ear twitching. 

"Why the heck not?" She smiled, moving over while the worker poured her a cup of some kind of vegetable soup still steeping from the thymus. 

"You really saved our hides out there today, Mr Tortwick had to stop construction for a week while waiting for a new hunter after the last one quit," the worker said, oh so Mr Tortwick wasn't a heartless bastard who made his workers work in grim infested territory without protection Ruby decided. 

"Oh it's nothing, I'm just staying in Vale for a while and need a job to hold down while the kingdoms sort themselves out" Ruby smiled brightly her fluffy tail wiggling happily making some of the workers coo and Aww, bringing a light blush to the young huntress' cheeks, which she hid behind her cup of soup. "this is good soup, did you make it?" 

"No not me I can't cook to save my life, my misses made it, I'll pass on you liked it" the worker smiled, gulping down his portion of soup, waiting a few minutes for her to finish her's before screwing her cup back onto the thymus and depositing it into his lunch bag. 

Just as the lunch siren sounded, signifying the end of lunch and construction started up again. Ruby though just went back to her chair set on a little mound of dirt, occasionally having to move along as the workers laid down huge portions of track. All in all, today was a good day, she got her paycheck which she was ecstatic about, and that soup was really good, very filling for what it was and the portion she had, whoever that guy's wife was, she's a master in the kitchen. 

Junior will certainly be happy that she's getting paid, being unharmed, free transportation as well, and being fed on top of all that. 

"Hey, kid! Mr Tortwick said he wanted to talk to you before you head home" the worker from before shouted, just as they all left the shuttle. Ruby nodded and headed back to the office where she last saw her new boss, only to find him absent, instead replaced with a black-haired cat faunus lazily sitting in his chair. 

"Oh um… sorry?" Ruby said to the cat faunus, who looked over with bored amber eyes. 

"If you're looking for Mr Tortwick, he's outside," the cat faunus said, her eyes piercing through Ruby's soul sending shivers from the tip of her ears to the end of her tail. The sheer amount of aura coming off that girl just screamed 'leave me alone' signifying for Ruby disintegrates into rose petals, escaping the stuffy atmosphere as quickly as possible. 

Ruby hasn't felt more scared since professor Goodwitch gave her detention in her third year for breaking a lock on a Grimm cage, and then not telling anyone, which then resulted in professor Port being mauled by an Ursa in the middle of one of his lectures. 

"Hey, Ruby right? Are you heading home?" Mr Tortwick asked startling Ruby out of her thoughts. 

"Yes!" She yelped, coughing into her hand "sorry, yes I am, though I'm not in a rush" 

"Well I don't want to stop you or anything," he said as Ruby's ears twitched a little, flipping backwards slightly. 

"I thought you said you wanted to speak with me?" She asked taking a step back which was mirrored by his step forwards. Well, this wasn't at all creepy she decided, he knew she was uncomfortable, he's a faunus, she's a faunus, he knows she's armed, equipped with a highly dangerous weapon, and has an aura. 

Maybe him being creepy is accidental? 

"You have lovely skin" he commented, leaning down to her, watching in confusion as Ruby's tail fluffed up, the girl sufficiently freaked. 

"Oh look at the time! I just remembered I have to pick up my sister from school!" she said promptly escaping with a bit of semblance-power and walking briskly to the nearest bus stop. "Well that certainly ruined a good day" she sighed, touching her forehead lightly just as her bus came round the corner, and after flashing her huntress license which promised her free public transport in Vale and Atlas which Ruby totally did not abuse. 

Even though this is technically the use it's intended for. 

And after a few minutes of trying not to get a headache from the vibrations coming from the ancient mode of transport, she finally arrived at the vale airship landing pads and started the journey home for real. 

* * *

"And I think that's the last of them" Ruby declared, wiping her forehead with her sleeve, not that she worked up a sweat or anything, she did it mainly because her hair was in the way. The workers were certainly happy to see her cut down the last ursa. "Are you guys really that devoted to making a railroad in such an infested area? It seems like a serious safety hazard" she said, kicking away the dismembered arm of the bear she cut down. 

"The whole point of this railway is to fling hunters further out into Grimm territory, it's construction will ensure the safety of generations to come. In my unprofessional opinion, that sounds worth the risk" one of the workers commented as Ruby looked at the track before walking back to her chair. 

"Alright then" she sighed, going back to watching the diverse group of individuals, faunus and humans working together to construct this railway that promises to open the world to hunters. Maybe Ruby will use it one day, when travelling to her next hunt, sometime in the future when she's not sitting around surrounded by forest waiting for Grimm to attack. 

It's been a week now and Ruby thought she would have accomplished more, her banker is happy which is a nice change from the panicked letters telling her to pay off her debt. All in all, there isn't much Ruby can complain about. 

Apart from her creepy boss 

Ruby didn't really know his problem, she was willing to give him the shadow of a doubt in the beginning, but he stroked her tail yesterday, just walked up to her and stroked it while she had her back turned, and that was disturbing on all levels for Ruby. 

Mainly because his hands are rough and Ruby hated the fact she knew that. 

Just thinking about it was sending shivers down her back. 

And not the good kind either, she never knew someone to be so creepy, and uncle Qrow is pretty creepy, as well as that one crocodile faunus this one time. And that girl that's always with him, always bleeding murderous intent, Ruby's pretty sure she killed someone a few days ago if seeing her standing over a bloody puddle was any indication. 

Ruby just made it a point not to stay any longer then she had to, and after talking extensively with Junior they both decided Mr Tortwick is a massive creep, not necessarily the upstanding man junior knows him to be and Junior wasn't particularly happy about him touching up his honorary niece. 

Ruby just had one question to ask though, why do all the fox boys have to be such creeps? 

"Ruby" speak of the devil, Ruby sighed turning on her heel and smiling weakly up at the ginger, she didn't know if he was trying to be intimidating or what, it felt like he was, but she also fights Grimm for a living so it's pretty ineffective. "You dropped this," he said holding out a red-painted dust clip, a little muddy, signifying he picked it up from the ground somewhere. 

"Oh! Thank you" she said genuinely happy at having one of those returned "you'd think after six years of using the same clips I would actually forge an adapter so they fit on my belt properly" she chuckled, clipping it onto her back, not 100% happy about how mobile it was on there, but it was a minor issue. 

"You know… the dust in there isn't very pure," Tortwick said, shifting slightly with his tail tucked, and something struck her, he's nervous! That's almost sweet in a weird way. 

"Dust is expensive, besides I only need it for a bit of a punch," Ruby said "I had to practically sell my leg for this clip of gravity dust" 

"I thought hunters get subsidies for dust," he said, actually showing interest and surprising Ruby a whole lot. 

"Well we do, but it depends on your class and how much you use a month. I'm in the special weapons category, subsection guns, which means my discount is pretty high for things like fire ice and electricity. Gravity dust on the other hand… not so much, essentially nothing at all" Ruby sighed, "I wouldn't mind too much, but the SDC opened six new gravity dust mines just this month, so me thinking the price would go down, was sorely disappointed" 

"Did you end up using any gravity dust today?" He asked politely, regaining some of that upstanding and more relaxed composure he had when then they first met… properly that is, she's pretty sure she met him two chapters ago. 

"Only one bullet, but that was because I picked the wrong cartridge. Got sent flying, which was an interesting experience" Ruby chuckled lightly listening to Roman chuckle along with her, it was light and joyful, which made her tail wiggle a little and she didn't miss his smile at that.

This was quite nice actually if they could talk more like this Ruby would think he's less creepy. 

"You live in Vale, right? Heading home now?" The other fox faunus asked. 

"Yep, my dad wants me to pick up my sister from school, technically I live in patch though" 

"That seems a bit far" 

"It's about an hour commute, not to mention the twenty-minute walk through a forest, but it's nice, little old? rustic?" 

"I would say quaint" he smiled softly "I'll let you go pick up your sister, I'll see you tomorrow" 

"Alright, bye Tortwick," she said, walking off with a small skip missing the strange murderous cat lady give Roman a light smile and a thumbs up. 

Ruby felt significantly less weirded out on the way home, and her dad certainly noticed the change when she got home, with terrified little sister in tow. Which reminds Ruby, don't walk ten-year-olds through forests at night, it raises way too many questions then it answers. 

"Did you two have a good day?" Tai-yang asked his daughters over some spaghetti and garlic bread he'd been lovingly preparing for the last two days. 

"I killed a beowolf!" Yang chirped happily while Ruby just drank her apple juice with a slight smirk. 

"I took down about fifteen Ursa," she said, earning a gasp of awe from her younger sister. "I also saw a nevermore, didn't attack or anything though, probably be back tomorrow" 

"Probably, if it looked you in the eyes, it will hunt you down," Tai-yang said while Ruby chuckled lightly. 

"I'll keep my eyes open then," she said smiled, breaking her bread apart "you did good on this meal dad, I didn't know you could be such a good cook" 

"Thanks, sweet pea, it took a whole lot of work but I'm glad we're enjoying it" he smiled broadly, basking in his eldest's praise. Ruby just tucked into the homemade pasta with a satisfied expression, safe to say the three fox faunus gorged themselves that night. 

* * *

"I tried! I really tired Blake, do you think she appreciated it?" 

"You didn't make the girl look like she's going to remove your kneecaps if you blink weirdly, so let's call that a success," a black-haired cat faunus said, the Same black haired cat faunus from earlier. "You freaked her out so badly you had Junior banging on your door telling you to back off, I don't think it's going to be as simple as a couple of nice words" 

"Ughhh" Roman grumbled, banging his head on his kitchen counter "why do all the hunters have to be so hot, she's even a faunus! A fox as well, and she smells pure" 

"And that is one of the reasons why she's freaked out by you, stop smelling her, it's creepy" Blake sighed, pouring a cup of tea for her boss and herself. "And I'm pretty sure a huntress won't take you being creepy for much longer" 

"I know Blake, I know, but I'm trying, surely that counts for something" 

"It does, just try harder and less… creepier, be nice, try and be a normal person and smell her hair less" Blake sighed, rubbing her boss's back while he made noises of displeasure. 

"But it smells so good" 

"You're a faunus, you don't have to be so close" 

"It's a subtle smell though!" 

"Talky first, smelly second, you can live without smelling her for a couple of weeks while you get to know each other" 

"And then I can smell her?" 

"Maybe, if she agrees to it, maybe you'll be as weird as each other. But first steps first, talk and get to know each other, or you're going to embarrass yourself, the company, and probably your whole species." 

"No pressure right?" 

"Oh of course, just don't go overboard or you'll scare her away like the last six hunters" Blake sighed "just don't panic and stay calm, you did well today, she's definitely appreciating the normal people talk" 

"Fine I get the hint, I'll be less… me until we know each other better."

"That's the spirit, you'll be friends in no time" 

"Alright ok, for potential friendship" 

"Yes potential friendship"

"Potential friendship…" Roman sighed, sitting up and walking over to a small pile of papers left discarded on his coffee table "when is that railroad going to be finished?" 

"Two weeks?" 

"Alright" he sighed, rubbing his face in anguish "gotta do this shit quickly" 

"I don't know what you see in her you know, she doesn't seem to be your type" 

"Call it a feeling, you'll see, there's something about her which makes her… feel different." 

"Fine whatever" Blake sighed, cleaning up briefly and then leaving her boss to think in the dark, maybe he will finally think of something that doesn't drive this girl off before he ends up alone for potentially forever with nothing but money which isn't a healthy existence. 

Who knows, maybe this is his cosmic destination, whatever that means. 


	4. To hide is to express

"Aww, look at the little guy" 

"All for you my dear" Roman said, winking at Ruby while the girl blushed, watching diggers with their scoops full of puppies and gravity dust, dumping it over the fox girl. 

"Oh yes Roman, I will marry you!" 

"I knew you would baby" he smiled, his arms being filled with the fox girl, he nuzzled her forehead inhaling her Rosey scent before stroking her tail in his hand. 

"Oh Roman, I love you" 

"I love you too" 

"I know, kiss me Roman kiss me"

Roman wagged his tail and pursed his lips pressing his face to her's. Until her mouth split open revealing a maw of shark-like teeth that stung his face when they sunk into his cheek "WAKE UP" she roared, clawing at his chest and shoulders.

"WAKE UP! Stop kissing me you freak!" Blake growled punching Roman in his face yet again. "That's the last time I touch you while you're sleeping" she growled, snatching her tail from his delirious hands, storming out soon later. 

"God I'm hopeless" he moaned, banging his head against his desk 

"Yes you are" Blake added 

"and I need a new desk" 

"Not a chance in hell" 

"Ugh fine" Roman sighed, banging his head again before his ear flicked and his nose twitched "Ruby?" He asked looking up to see the literal woman of his dreams standing there covered in Grimm goo. The ginger quickly rushed to fix his suit before sitting up straight "how long have you been standing there?" 

"Ummm… not long at all, why?" 

"No reason, anyway I have your paycheck here," he said, standing up while the two crossed Scrolls with each other, hearing the telltale beep of a successful lien transfer. 

"Awesome! Thank you Mr Tortwick!" She cheered looking at her scroll with a wagging tail, just before it stopped wagging slightly "wait" 

"Is something wrong?" He asked, slightly upset that her glorious tail had stopped its graceful movement. 

"This is more than what we agreed on, I can't accept it" 

"Don't think of it as more than we agreed on, think of it as a tip for doing such a good job" 

"You think I did a good job?" Ruby asked with bright eyes, looking at him still caked in Grimm ikor, but you know what? Ruby covered in Grimm blood looked just as cute as Ruby not covered in Grimm blood. 

"Absolutely, look at all those guys, they wouldn't be alive if not for you, and you didn't damage a single piece of my equipment," Roman said after directing Ruby to the window, both of them watching the workers file into their cars or minibus, or public transport of choice "you did good and good work deserves rewards, so you deserve every card of lien," he said placing a hand on her shoulder before the Grimm ikor growled at him, raising up and taking gooey bites at him. 

"Sorry I need a shower" Ruby smiled, calming her goopy buddy before it started digesting her. "Well it's been nice meeting you Mr Tortwick, I hope I'll work with you again soon" 

"Actually Ruby, I have an operation in mountain Glenn that has a bit of a Grimm problem itself, the hunter I had quit yesterday. So… the position is open if you want it" 

"Really?" Ruby asked, looking almost excited at the offer in Roman's eyes, which brought something to his chest that almost had his tail going, but he kept it still for her. 

"Yep, I could even get Blake to pick you up for it if you would like" 

"Who…?" 

"Blake? Cat faunus? broody? Looks and moves like a living shadow? She has a cute tail as well but doesn't tell her I said that" he winked making her blush and giggle lightly 

"It's my semblance Sir, you know that" Blake huffed entering the room sipping some water and looking between the two. 

"Ohhhh your semblance is an illusion semblance! Let me guess… hmmm substitution?" Ruby asked after tapping her chin 

"How did you know?" 

"I just figured, you have that ninja look" Ruby smirked proudly of her achievement, even though it wasn't that much of an achievement. "Mr Tortwick said you would drive me if I took his offer" 

"What new offer?" Blake asked confused looking to Roman who sweated slightly 

"You know, that offer, the one at mountain Glenn?" He said, using his eyes to form some kind of mental connection which pleaded her with all his being to just go with it. 

"Oh? Oh! Ohhh!, right, yes that offer, I'll be happy to drive you" she said with a weak smile that made Ruby uncomfortable, mainly because Blake had her canines hanging out which screamed threat more than being held at gunpoint. 

"Ok I'll do it," Ruby said, just as Roman retrieved an employment sheet and filled it out quickly. 

"Great!" He cheered, almost hugging the tiny huntsman but the semi-fluid rather agitated Grimm put a stop to that before he could even step forwards. "Just sign here" he smiled about to pass her a pen when she just used her bloody finger to smear her name onto the Line. 

"I'll see you tomorrow then!" She chirped, rushing off in a cloud of rose petals leaving Roman feeling like someone just cut out his heart. 

"I do not understand what you see in that girl" Blake sighed, set about cleaning up the puddles of blood before they became sentient. "She has a nice tail. You know, for a fox" 

"What does that mean!" Roman growled 

"Nothing nothing, just that your tails are all fluff no substance" 

"Says you lady hip rope, that thing is basically a whip" 

"More functional than yours then" 

"Functionality is not the point! Besides, who doesn't like fluff? I like fluff, and Ruby's tail is the fluffiest!" 

"Ok weirdo" Blake scoffed just setting about mopping the floor in silence. 

"Cat faunus" Roman sighed, shaking his head lightly. 

* * *

"Mountain Glenn huh? Don't you think that's a little dangerous? I know the city is trying to expand into it and all but that place is infested with Grimm" Qrow said before sipping his scotch, relishing on its taste and smooth texture. 

"Mr Tortwick said that mountain Glenn is having more walls built as well as better Grimm security. I think that means they're building turrets or something similar?" Ruby thought, sipping her drink, just sitting there crunching on an ice cube for a moment before adding "it's got really good pay, I may even see one of those ancient goliaths that have been spotted patrolling the border" 

"That's a bad omen Ruby, ancient goliath gathering isn't a good sign, they've been told to know the future and sense impending tragedy to feed on the negative emotions, to sustain themselves for years upon years." 

"I'm sure it's something to do with the mortuary built on the edges of the city, not some big tragedy, surely there would be some kind of warning and not just big bony elephants wandering around" chuckled Ruby, sipping her drink once more much to Qrow's sigh, just leaning on his elbow against the bar, chin in hand with a slightly disappointed look pointed at his oldest niece. 

"I thought young grasshoppers like you were supposed to listen to your elders instead of just running in all willy nilly" Qrow sighed, rubbing his face slightly with a resigned look, and then asking "Will you at least be careful? I don't know what I would do if you got hurt, especially from something so preventable" 

"Finnneeee, if it will make you happy, I'll be careful, I doubt anything will happen anyway" Ruby groaned "I'm sure you have some kind of paranoia uncle" 

"Well if I do, and it keeps you safe, then I don't care, you're a huntress and that's pretty dangerous, incredibly dangerous, one of the most dangerous jobs in the whole of remnant in fact. If I don't watch your back, who will?" 

"I get it, you care for me and don't want me to get hurt, but come on! I scored an eight on my preparedness test last month, and you're a nine!" Ruby chirped, making him chuckle. 

"I know you are plenty capable which is why I'm not coming with you, if you were Yang or brothers forbid your dad, you bet I will come with. But I trust you to be capable and defend yourself out there" 

"I will uncle worrywart, I'm combat ready!" Ruby said, wagging her fluffy tail side to side while Qrow laughed slightly, finishing his drink in one gulp and just flexing his aura to avoid the burn, Ruby copying him soon after. 

"I'm sure you are, but I'm serious, I have a bad feeling about this." 

"I mean, you also had a bad feeling about vacuo, but here we are, living, breathing, with therapy but alive" 

"That mission was a nightmare! Doug died, you almost got digested by a wyvern, Zwei broke a leg, and I'm still finding sand in uncomfortable places" 

"Pish, I'm still alive, that wyvern didn't stand a chance against my sweetheart" 

"Ruby please" 

"Finneee I'll be very careful, and try not to be eaten by a Grimm"

"And call me if you ever need help, I'm going to be staying in Vale for a couple of months so don't hesitate even if it feels like a waste of time"

"Uncle I assure you that nothing will go wrong, I swear on it" 

"Then promise me you'll call me to help, you have nothing to lose if you say yes" 

"Fine fine fine, yes I promise I will call you if anything goes wrong" 

"And…?"

"And if I need your help" 

"Alright." Qrow sighed, rubbing his face with weathered hands, Ruby's ear twitching slightly at the sandpapery sound of his stubble being rubbed. "It's a deal then I'll keep my scroll on me for now and you be very careful. This first week is going to be the worst for you as well." 

"It's only three weeks I'll be back on patch before you know it" 

"If vacuo has taught us anything, three weeks is plenty of time for things to go wrong" 

"Well yeah… but that was vacuo, this is vale" 

"And that's mountain Glenn, let's just hope nothing too bad happens. 

"Yeah…" Ruby sighed, her head spinning with the myriad of things her uncle could be so terrified about. In all honesty, she's never seen the man so freaked, she's known him to put himself in front of a carving ursa with little fear, monitor drakes at close range without dropping a bead of sweat over it.

Time can only tell what this gut feeling will lead to

* * *

"Isn't this a little much?"

"What are you talking about? This is pretty cheap" Roman Tortwick said looking around the large apartment, multiple rooms, a holoscreen that filled a wall with ultra HD goodness. 

"She's one girl who lives with her father, downgrade, you can't even afford this kind of accommodation for yourself" Blake groaned. 

"Hey, I can afford this for myself! I just choose not to…" Roman paused looking around at the gold embellishment on the countertop "maybe this is a little much" 

"You think? You have ten minutes to fix this mess before she gets here! or you're going to freak her out, again!" 

"Humm fine" he sighed, picking out his scroll and flicking through the accommodation options which he was presented by the mayor of Vale for his hunters. 

"One bedroom, a small living area, one bathroom and a kitchen no more no less" Blake hissed 

Roman didn't totally agree with that decision as he wanted to spoil the girl he has set his eyes on. He certainly had the lien to pull it off, though Ruby was a cautious soul, something no doubtable gained from years of battle experience. Boldness is not going to win this battle it seems. "This one then? Smallish suitable for one person?" Roman asked, prompting his assistant who looked over the description before nodding. 

"I would say so" she agreed looking over the floor schematics over Roman's shoulder "I still don't think she's worth all this trouble" 

"That's because your a heartless woman who doesn't feel love and doesn't understand what it can do to a man" 

"Don't be ridiculous, I have a love life after all" 

"Well, where is it? I've known you for seven gruelling years and the only relationship I've known you to have is with your fish" Roman huffed "and I'm not completely convinced that you have them purely for show, kitty cat, you seemed far too eager about that 'blue tuna' sandwich" 

"Well excuse me at least I don't stalk a young girl around like a total creep and potential paedophile just because you think her tail is cute" 

"It's not just about the tail!" Roman roared, slamming his hand on the counter bringing silence to the room once more before he sighed long and deep "it's not just about the tail, her tail is lovely, beautiful in every way I can give you that, but it's more than that. I have a semblance, I can… tell what a person is like, their hopes, their dreams, how they see the world through their own eyes… what they want for dinner… and most importantly, their desires in this world what keeps them running towards that impregnable barrier that holds us all back. She sees the world for what it is, a messed up bundle of people who don't know what they're doing, and she wants to rectify that and she has the drive to do it." 

Roman paused for a moment 

"Her strength is something to be fearful of, she's bold and bull-headed, brash at the best of times, acting before thinking and damdb be the consequences later. Her love life as it stands is in shambles, her last relationship with someone ended in disaster, I want to know her so much better than I do already, I love her and she doesn't even love me back, she thinks I'm creepy and weird and it kills me!" Roman growled gripping his ginger locks white knuckle tight almost pulling them out "every single time it hurts to know she thinks that way of me, I love her so much and she can't even look me in the eye"

"Mr- Roman, I didn't know you felt that way about her," Blake said, astonished by her boss's reasoning if she could call that a reasoning. 

"I know, I just wish I could tell her" Roman sighed, brushing his bangs back only to see a figure standing at the door. Roman wanted to scream and he almost did when a particular fox faunus walked in with a bag slung over her shoulder. 

"You don't have to, I heard everything," Ruby said striding over and looking Roman in the eye, hugging the taller individual around the middle before saying "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same" and walked off, leaving Blake shocked but Roman with a wagging tail. 

"Why are you so happy? The girl just rejected you" she said looking at Roman. 

"Because she's lying" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the... umm *pulls up notes*  
> Month-long wait, school has really been getting in the way, and I know that's an excuse more than anything but I'm in my final year so *airhorns* 
> 
> Next chapter you avid Rwby fans will be itching towards what I've got up my metaphorical sleeves while I dive into some politics.  
> If this story isn't political enough as it is.


End file.
